Shake the Dust

I have yet again fallen behind on my blog posting! Though these past two weeks have been more mellow than others, so it shouldn't be too hard to catch you all up. Two weeks ago my friend Katie's Mom was here visiting, and I got to tag along to a few of their outings (without having to pay for transportation) which was hugely appreciated. We took a day trip down the peninsula and went to Muizenberg for a quick visit, stopped in Kalk Bay (yet again...I never get sick of that place!), and then to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. Cape Point is the place that they first thought was the Southern most point in Africa, but after more exploring realized their mistake (the actual Southern most point is Cape Agulhas, which we visited last Saturday). Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope (the Southwestern most point in Africa) were beautiful and we lucked out on the weather--the sun came out for us even though it was a rainy week. We also stopped in Simonstown at Boulder's Beach where all the penguins hang out--that's right, penguins! They were very adorable, but a strange sight to see in Africa. We drove down one side of the peninsula and came up the other, and both drives were equally stunning. Then on Sunday we spent the morning in Kirstenbosch and then attended another concert at the amphitheatre. As summer is ending here, it was the last concert in the series so we had to take advantage. Then Katie’s mom made us homemade spaghetti and meatballs, which were DELICIOUS but also made me realize how much I miss homemade Italian food! It was great to spend time with family memebers, even if they weren't my own :)

African Penguins!

Hout Bay where we ate dinner

The weekdays didn't bring a lot of excitement, but I got caught up on some much needed sleep, postcard writing, and reading. On Friday we had a guest speaker in our theology class. She was Mary Burton, an ex-member and chairperson of the Black Sash, a prominent women's organization that protested Apartheid during its existence. She also served as a comissioner for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the Human Rights Committee. Being a commissioner of this committee was a huge honor during this time--one had to be nominated, publicly interviewed on television, and then personally selected by Mandela himself. The second of three TRC comittees during the immediate post-Apartheid years, the Human Rights Committee was in charge of hearing and recording the stories of victims of violence and/or opression during Apartheid. This committee worked in cooperation with the Amnesty Committee who were in charge of reviewing, and either granting or rejecting applications for amnesty. If the amnesty applicant did not give full disclosure of the crimes they had committed, or if their account did not match the account of the victim, they would not be granted amnesty. The TRC heard over 22,000 statements from victims, recieved 7,000 applications for amnesty and granted only 2,700. Hearing Mary's stories about her involvement with the Black Sash and the TRC were truly fascinating. Reading about these organisations is one thing, but hearing a personal account from a woman who experienced the work of the TRC first hand was a rare and special experience.

On Sunday, Katie and I attempted to chase the bungy jumping adrenaline rush by going paragliding off of Lion's Head. It was an incredible thrill, though not quite as terrifying as the bungy, which I was totally okay with. We hiked up about 3/4 of the mountain with our two guides, and within 15 minutes I was flying! The whole operation was really simple--all I had to do was strap on the harness and the helmet, wait for a good wind to come along, and run as fast and as hard as I could off the mountain. I was nervous for a brief second, but before I knew it I was seated comfortably in the harness and flying over the beautiful coastline of Cape Town, Table Mountain to one side and the ocean to the other. The wind only kept us up for about fifteen minutes, but it was an incredible fifteen minutes and well worth it. For anyone who has ever wanted to fly, I highly reccomend it.

During our house bonding session this week, one girl read a poem by Anis Mojgani called "Shake the Dust," which he performs flawlessly in this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qDtHdloK44. It had a huge impact on me and I highly reccomend watching the video if you haven't seen it. For me, this entire trip has been my way of shaking the dust, and I think I have done so successfully for the most part so far. Here are a few exerpts from the poem, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

"This is for the two-year-olds who cannot be understood because they speak half-English and half-god.

Shake the dust...

For the ones who are forgotten, the ones the amendments do not stand up for.

For the ones who are told to speak only when spoken to and then are never spoken to. Speak every time you stand so you do not forget yourself. Do not let a moment go by that doesn't remind you that your heart beats 900 times a day and that there are enough gallons of blood to make you an ocean.

Do not settle for letting these waves settle and the dust to collect in your veins."

 

ready for takeoff!